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Christmas in July? A Price War May Be Brewing

July 11, 2013 at 8:21 am

2014 Acura MDX (credit: Honda Motor Company)

ATLANTA (WAOK) – There may be a “price war” brewing in the automotive industry. Typically, experts suggest that car buyer’s can expect the best auto deals closer to the end of the year, or at the beginning of the year (for previous model year vehicles), but this year may be different. The first half of the year has been good for the auto industry, but recent changes in the stock market has put the brakes on new car sales for the past few weeks.

Some Japanese automakers and especially Nissan may take this opportunity to capitalize on the weakening yen. In May, Nissan’s sales grew some 25 percent due in part to attractive incentives and rebates on some of their most popular models. Early reports from Toyota suggest that they’ll wait until sales numbers from June are released before making any adjustments to their marketing strategy. Hyundai/Kia, on the other hand, say that they have no plans to boost production or incentivize their vehicles any further to combat the Japanese automakers.

Acura just released the new 2014 MDX, their large SUV and though they’ve added close to $4,000 of additional equipment and conveniences, the pricing of the new vehicle is only $1,700 above the 2013 MDX. The thought (or hope) is that consumers will opt to have more luxurious models rather than settle for the economy of lesser accessorized vehicles.

Back home in the U.S., GM has decided to respond with free maintenance for the first two years or 24,000 miles to attract more buyers to the showroom. According to Autodata, GM’s incentives were around $3,500 in May while Ford’s incentives were around $3,000 and Chrysler’s stayed about $3,200 on average.

It will be interesting to see which manufacturer will be next to come out with big rebates and special finance offers to attract you to their showrooms, but rest assured, if June sales did not meet forecast, you can expect big savings for the balance of the summer and perhaps through the end of the year.